Price: $40 (2GB), $50 (4GB), $70 (8GB)

The Good

The Bad

No AAC support.

Small screen.

Thick compared to the iPod shuffle.

design and the microSDHC slot

When the original Clip appeared in fall 2007, it was shaped much like a baby version of the Sansa Fuze, albeit with a circular directional pad instead of the scroll wheel. It was praised for fitting reasonably sized controls into a small space without dropping the screen, but it was docked for being somewhat cheap-feeling.

The Clip+ is a cosmetic reinvention of this formula, but functionally the same. The pad is now square and is not only easier to understand for a newcomer but easier to use: it has a more definite action than the old model. As a whole, the body is also generally better constructed. It feels more like the two-piece design it was meant to be. There's still a hollow feeling to the controls, though: the pad in particular makes relatively loud clicks with each press and feels cheap.

We like the clip mechanism on the player, which is plastic (unlike the metal of the iPod shuffle) but has a smooth, sturdy hinge. There was never any give or other worries the player was going to detach itself during a run, though as always it's a bad idea to clip a player like this to very loose clothing that could send the player flying. The size of the player is something of a problem here, though. The Clip+ is very thick compared to Apple's offering and is more likely to bounce around or simply draw more attention; the iPod shuffle is more discreet, if nothing else.

A mini USB port serves as the conduit to a computer, which we appreciate. Mini-to-full USB cables are very common for those with cameras or other handheld devices, so a trip to the store for a proprietary cable isn't likely if the bundled item goes missing.

In terms of actual new features, the only real addition is the microSDHC card slot, though this is arguably the centerpiece of the design. On a player with such limited capacity, it's appreciated to know there will be room for more storage if you see fit, or simply that content you own on one device (like a cellphone) can be shared with others. As of this writing, 16GB cards are the largest you can get, but that's enough to give the top-end 8GB Sansa a total of 24GB of space -- enough that even genuine enthusiasts could fit their whole music collections onboard.

If there's a drawback to the expansion, it's that it may be adding bulk (to accommodate the reader) and features that some buyers won't need. If you can afford a 16GB expansion card, the likelihood is rather small that you insist on such a physically small device for all your music, especially as navigating it will be that much more difficult. We see users more likely to use the slot on the 2GB model, where an initially less ambitious user might decide months later that more space would be ideal.

music, FM and voice recording

The advantage of a back-to-basics player is that it's very easy to design effective controls: here you use left and right presses to go deeper into or out of menu systems, up and down to scroll through menus, and both select as well as home buttons to start play or go back to the very top. About the only complication is the transformation of the direction pad into shortcuts once playback has started, but even these are easy to understand.

One definite plus is the integration of the microSDHC slot with the library. Many players in this category with card slots force you to browse the removable memory separately, defeating much of the point of the extra slot. Here, the player just needs a short scan of the card to integrate any music into the main library, even if it's in a sub-folder.

It's the display which is at once a virtue and a vice for this field. Just having the screen gives the Clip+ an immediate advantage over the iPod shuffle; SanDisk was also wise in choosing a very high-contrast OLED display whose true blacks won't blind you in the dark but also shouldn't wash out as easily as on a large, complex player like the Zune HD. However, as on the original Clip, there are only three lines of items visible at any time: that makes scrolling through a large list of content a slow and potentially agonizing process. Again, we can't see many filling the Clip+ to the brim with music as wading through dozens of artists and hundreds of songs may get tiresome.

FM radio exists here and of course doesn't face the obstacle of sheer size. While we wish it had auto-scan to find stations, it's easy to manually scan them and add them as presets for later. You can also stop and resume tuning from within the app, which not every player handles properly.

Voice recording exists, too, but we'd consider it a specialist feature than a must-have. We've found that the microphone here and on most other devices isn't detailed enough enough to capture sound in more than a quiet environment, and preferably close to the user. Class lectures and business meetings are still best recorded with a larger or dedicated microphone.

audio quality and battery life

The Clip developed a reputation as having unusually high-quality audio not just for its price but for any player, and thankfully that reputation can persist here. We'd immediately replace the stock earbuds with something better -- as we would on most any other player -- but once you do, you get surprisingly clear and detailed output from such a low-cost device, even with radio. It won't alter your perception of music, but anyone who has encountered the background hiss of some iPod shuffles will appreciate the difference.

Battery life is similarly impressive. Other wearable players' longevity has actually gotten shorter over time, even without a screen; the Clip+ in our experience lasts close to the claimed 15 hours of runtime promised despite having a screen of its own. The OLED and thick body logically help achieve this goal, but it's nonetheless a shock to get 50 percent more usefulness than an equivalent iPod.

the sync process and format support

Loading the Clip+ is as easy as it is with most SanDisk Players. Any computer with support for USB mass storage can at the very least drag and drop music through the operating system. There are pre-made folders for various types of content, including podcasts, so there's never a mystery as to where files should go. An inserted microSDHC card doesn't need to have a particular folder structure to work. We've successfully loaded the player on a Mac, but Windows users get the best treatment as they can use WinAmp, Windows Media Player or another app for a conventional sync.

We do wish there were at least an in-between app for syncing music from iTunes, but that's not very likely given the main flaw of the new Sansa: a lack of AAC support. Despite two years' time and some older players recognizing the standard, the Clip line still only sees MP3, Ogg Vorbis and WMA among its conventional compressed music formats. Why this is, SanDisk hasn't said, but it's not for lack of processing power. Besides the processor-intensive Ogg Vorbis, the player can also recognize lossless FLAC as well as Audible's specialized format, so we suspect it's either lack of interest or a delay that's preventing AAC from showing on this player.

There's also support for slotMusic and slotRadio cards, but the truth is that neither format has been particularly well accepted and will mostly appeal to those who like getting a large volume of music at a discount and don't mind losing some control over how it's played.

wrapping up

Aside from this inexplicable foible, the Sansa Clip+ is a textbook example of how to design a simple player perfect for the gym or the morning run. It could be thinner and use a more solid directional pad, but both loading it with content and playing music are as straightforward as they could be. The extras clearly fill out almost every need you'd anticipate from this player, whether it's running out of room (the card slot) or tuning into FM, which can be especially handy at gyms that use FM to broadcast their TVs' audio.

The price is hard to resist, too. At $40 for a 2GB model, it's inexpensive enough to be a good secondary player or a child's first MP3 player that won't hit the pocketbook as sharply if it's broken or lost.

Those heavily invested in iTunes will have to turn to an iPod, a larger SanDisk player, or a more AAC-friendly competitor like the Sony Walkman, but everyone else looking for a no-frills player should certainly at least consider the Clip+. In fact, we'd go so far as to tell SanDisk to scrap its poorly executed slotMusic and slotRadio players altogether and make this new entry the preferred model for the preloaded cards. It's still simple to use, but has all the controls and features you'd expect from a music player made in 2009.

Now AAPL Stock: The symbol you provided ("AAPL") doesn't appear to be registered

Cirrus creates Lightning-headphone dev kit

Apple supplier Cirrus Logic has introduced a MFi-compliant new development kit for companies interested in using Cirrus' chips to create Lightning-based headphones, which -- regardless of whether rumors about Apple dropping the analog headphone jack in its iPhone this fall -- can offer advantages to music-loving iOS device users. The kit mentions some of the advantages of an all-digital headset or headphone connector, including higher-bitrate support, a more customizable experience, and support for power and data transfer into headphone hardware. Several companies already make Lightning headphones, and Apple has supported the concept since June 2014. http://bit.ly/29giiZj

Share

Developer602d

Apple Store app offers Procreate Pocket

The Apple Store app for iPhone, which periodically rewards users with free app gifts, is now offering the iPhone "Pocket" version of drawing app Procreate for those who have the free Apple Store app until July 28. Users who have redeemed the offer by navigating to the "Stores" tab of the app and swiping past the "iPhone Upgrade Program" banner to the "Procreate" banner have noted that only the limited Pocket (iPhone) version of the app is available free, even if the Apple Store app is installed and the offer redeemed on an iPad. The Pocket version currently sells for $3 on the iOS App Store. [32.4MB]

Share

602d

Porsche adds CarPlay to 2017 Panamera

Porsche has added a fifth model of vehicle to its CarPlay-supported lineup, announcing that the 2017 Panamera -- which will arrive in the US in January -- will include Apple's infotainment technology, and be seen on a giant 12.3-inch touchscreen as part of an all-new Porsche Communication Management system. The luxury sedan starts at $99,900 for the 4S model, and scales up to the Panamera Turbo, which sells for $146,900. Other vehicles that currently support CarPlay include the 2016 911 and the 2017 models of Macan, 718 Boxster, and 718 Cayman. The company did not mention support for Google's corresponding Android Auto in its announcement. http://bit.ly/295ZQ94

Share

Industry602d

Apple employees testing wheelchair features

New features included in the forthcoming watchOS 3 are being tested by Apple retail store employees, including a new activity-tracking feature that has been designed with wheelchair users in mind. The move is slightly unusual in that, while retail employees have previously been used to test pre-release versions of OS X and iOS, this marks the first time they've been included in the otherwise developer-only watchOS betas. The company is said to have gone to great lengths to modify the activity tracker for wheelchair users, including changing the "time to stand" notification to "time to roll" and including two wheelchair-centric workout apps. http://bit.ly/2955JDa

Share

Troubleshooting602d

SanDisk reveals two 256GB microSDXC cards

SanDisk has introduced two 256GB microSDXC cards. Arriving in August for $150, the Ultra microSDXC UHS-I Premium Edition card offers transfer speeds of up to 95MB/s for reading data. The Extreme microSDXC UHS-I card can read at a fast 100MB/s and write at up to 90MB/s, and will be shipping sometime in the fourth quarter for $200. http://bit.ly/294Q1If

Share

Upgrades/storage602d

Apple's third-quarter results due July 26

Apple has advised it will be issuing its third-quarter results on July 26, with a conference call to answer investor and analyst queries about the earnings set to take place later that day. The stream of the call will go live at 2pm PT (5pm ET) via Apple's investor site, with the results themselves expected to be released roughly 30 minutes before the call commences. Apple's guidance for the quarter put revenue at between $41 billion and $43 billion. http://apple.co/1oi1Pbm

Share

Investor603d

Twitter stickers slowly roll out to users

Twitter has introduced "stickers," allowing users to add extra graphical elements to their photos before uploading them to the micro-blogging service. A library of hundreds of accessories, props, and emoji will be available to use as stickers, which can be resized, rotated, and placed anywhere on the photograph. Images with stickers will also become searchable with viewers able to select a sticker to see how others use the same graphic in their own posts. Twitter advises stickers will be rolling out to users over the next few weeks, and will work on both the mobile apps and through the browser. http://bit.ly/29bbwUE